While there were some moving pieces, the New England Patriots’ coaching staff as a whole remained largely unchanged in 2026. The group did add some significant experience to the mix, however, hiring former New York Giants and Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Shane Bowen as a defensive analyst.
Bowen coming to Foxborough reunites him with several of his former Titans colleagues; he was Tennessee’s defensive coordinator under Mike Vrabel from 2021 to 2023 and the team’s outside linebackers coach
for the three seasons before that.
“Shane’s got a lot of experience in how we do things,” said Vrabel during the Patriots’ mandatory minicamp at Gillette Stadium last week. “He has been very valuable to me, personally, going back to Ohio State. We learned how to coach together. And that is a thing I will always appreciate about Shane, is that we learned how to coach. I’m proud of what he has done in this league and am excited about him being here and helping us.”
One part of said help is using his expertise to help some of the younger coaches on the staff, says Vrabel.
“He assists the defense and helps some of the young guys,” the reigning NFL Coach of the Year explained. “Excited about Kevin Richardson and B.J. Edmonds — those are younger coaches on our staff — that those guys can go to Shane, ask him and rely on him to fill in the gaps, maybe while some of the other coaches have something going on or they’re meeting with players.”
Another one of the younger guys, at least in terms of on-the-job experience, is Zak Kuhr. Officially the Patriots’ inside linebackers coach in 2025, Kuhr spent most of the season as play-caller following then-defensive coordinator Terrell Williams’ prostate cancer diagnosis.
In the offseason, Kuhr was officially promoted to DC for the first time in his career. And while he fared admirably well as a de facto coordinator last season already, any and all assistance and additional resources he can have at his disposal is welcome from the team’s perspective and Kuhr’s as well.
“He’s just another great sounding board when I have questions, and you know he’s going to give me the true, honest answer,” he said. “There’s a deep enough relationship there for it.”
Kuhr and Bowen first crossed paths at Ohio State in 2012. The former was an intern and the latter a graduate assistant on a staff that also featured Mike Vrabel as defensive line coach. They later reunited under Vrabel in Tennessee, and spent 2024 in New York alongside one another.
Kuhr eventually departed his role as a defensive assistant for the Giants last offseason to come work for Vrabel in New England. Bowen remained in New York as defensive coordinator, but was fired in November.
Now, the two are back together again.
“I love working with Shane. I probably would not be here today without Shane,” Kuhr said. “We’ve always had that chemistry. I was grateful that he brought me with him to New York, so we’ve only had a year apart now, and it’s like we were never apart before.”
